DOT to fix lane reflectors on I-40

The North Carolina Department of Transportation announced Friday that it will install pavement lane reflectors along westbound I-40 between Wade Avenue and Harrison Avenue on Sunday morning.

The DOT admitted it had a problem with the section of interstate earlier this week when ABC11 reported the concerns of drivers who said the lanes are not well marked as a widening project continues in the area.

Lanes are especially hard to see in wet and dark conditions.

"It is confusing," driver Katy Hamrick said Wednesday. "There are multiple lines all over the road. It's hard to tell which ones you need to be in, which ones you don't."

The DOT said the delay in putting down new reflectors was caused by cold weather. The work can only be done when it's relatively warm and dry or road paint won't stick.

"With the NHL All-Star Game being held this weekend in Raleigh, and rain in the forecast for much of next week, further delaying the striping of the westbound lanes, it was decided to put the reflectors in place," said the DOT in a news release.

The work will be done in a slow-moving rolling operation that will not require any lane closures between 8 and 11 a.m.

The NHL All-Star game events begin at 4 p.m.

The work is part of the $49 million project to widen I-40 from just east of the Jones Franklin Road bridge to Harrison Avenue. It is scheduled to be completed by this July, but the DOT said the work is ahead of schedule.